Pakistan’s cricket captain Mohammad Rizwan, along with bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and all-rounder Shadab Khan, are included in the first overseas draft list for the 15th season of the Big Bash League (BBL), as reported by ESPNcricinfo. The draft is set for June 19, with Brisbane Heat getting the first pick. Sam Curran and Alex Hales from England, Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee from New Zealand, Kusal Perera from Sri Lanka, and Shamar Joseph from the West Indies round out the first list of 10 players.
In the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), Indian players Shikha Pandey and Jemimah Rodrigues, along with Deandra Dottin from the West Indies and Fatima Sana from Pakistan, are nominated as well. England’s Lauren Bell, Sophie Ecclestone, Heather Knight, and Danni Wyatt-Hodge also made the list, along with South Africans Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon.
The draft for the upcoming BBL and WBBL seasons has been moved to June to help teams with their player selections. More than 600 overseas players have signed up for both leagues. The Heat and Sixers will make the first choices in the BBL and WBBL drafts, respectively. Each draft has four rounds where each team picks one player.
Teams can select players in four different salary bands: Platinum for rounds 1 or 2, Gold for rounds 2 or 3, Silver for rounds 3 or 4, and Bronze for round 4 only. Teams must choose a minimum of three players, including those they have already signed.
Teams are already starting to build their rosters. Pre-signed international players include Jamie Overton and Laura Wolvaardt for the Adelaide Strikers, Colin Munro and Nadine de Klerk for the Brisbane Heat, Chris Jordan for Hobart Hurricanes, Tim Seifert and Hayley Matthews for the Melbourne Renegades, Tom Curran and Marizanne Kapp for the Melbourne Stars, Finn Allen and Sophie Devine for the Perth Scorchers, Amelia Kerr for the Sydney Sixers, and Sam Billings and Chamari Athapaththu for the Sydney Thunder.